Cannibal Mukbang (2023)

I must have led a sheltered life, having not heard of the term "Mukbang". Apparently, it’s a thing (especially in South Korea) where people live-stream videos of themselves eating large quantities of food while talking to their audience. Really? What will they think of next?! Anyway, this film by director/writer Aimee Kuge adds a twist to this - as you can see from the title - introducing a cannibalistic edge. "An exploration of one’s relationships with food, sexuality, and revenge" goes the tagline. "How far would you go in the name of love?"

The story centres on Mark (Nate Wise), a man who defines 'shy and quiet'. A clumsy, awkward customer service agent by day, Mark spends his nights retreating into the digital safety of horror films and Mukbang videos. His stagnant life is violently interrupted when he is struck by a car in a convenience store car park, having just 'eyed-up' Ash inside.

It turns out that Ash (April Consalo) is the driver. A manic, free-spirited redhead who, at first (and second) glance, reminds me very much of a young Tori Amos! Mark is knocked unconscious, but rather than calling an ambulance, she takes him home to nurse him back to health. What follows is a whirlwind romance that feels surprisingly tender - until the fridge is opened!

Mark soon discovers that Ash is a minor internet celebrity who has taken the Mukbang trend to its most literal, lethal conclusion. She doesn’t just eat for the camera, she hunts! Positioning herself as a female kind of Dexter, Ash targets the scumbags of society - predators, abusers, and misogynists - transforming her energy into vigilantism. But unlike Dexter, she doesn’t stop at just the kill!

The chemistry between the two leads is worthy of note, as we see the story unfold from both of their perspectives, moral standpoints, and - in his case - initial shock and horror. We watch as she draws him in and they fall in love. He clearly wants to please her, even if he doesn't quite understand his own growing acceptance of her lifestyle. She shows him the life she has chosen and he slowly adopts it, both to be with her and to transform himself from a wimp into a confident person.

There is plenty of graphic violence on show as the kills progress, along with strong language, some nudity and one sex scene which finally bonds their connection and signals his total acceptance. Despite the gore, the film isn't really scary. It’s more of a dark comedy, often with the meat cleaver doing good service! There is a local subplot involving a serial killer on the loose - it isn’t Ash, but rather someone she would very much like to get onto her table, as Dex would say!

At 1 hour and 44 minutes long, the third quarter does drag a bit, mostly during the relationship and background segments where we discover their respective origins. However, there is one glaringly significant factor about Mark throughout the film which is explained, but certainly not made the most of as a feature or development point. Mark is also very close to his brother, which causes significant problems later in the story.

The cinematography and sets are very colourful, often feeling like a surreal 1960s Andy Warhol outing during the various dream sequences. April Consalo’s performance is great—very convincing and enjoyable to watch. She is a bright and confident actress. Nate Wise is not far behind, though his role doesn’t quite allow him the same scope and flair.

If you fancy some graphic violence and 'female rage' themes, this is a real treat. It reminded me not only of Dexter but also Fresh (2022) and May (2002). Aimee Kuge has done well with her debut, blending dark romantic comedy with blood, guts and gore. Great fun and highly recommended. It is now available on several streaming services here in the UK.

Phone Memory Cards and Audio Jacks in 2026

There was a tech journo writing today about not missing 3.5mm audio-out sockets on phones on ‘makeuseof’, and then leaning into microSD cards and notification sliders. I never did much care about the latter, but the first two - well, we’ve banged on for years on PSC about how great it is to have them both. However, I have to admit that whenever I get my SIM card into a Sony Xperia phone here, I smile at the 3.5mm audio-out socket and dutifully put my 1TB microSD card into the slot. And then - I realise when I switch to another phone - I have not used either of them once!

I guess for some it’s a ‘nice to have rather than not’, but in today’s super-connected world and with staggeringly good Bluetooth, I wonder just how many people actually still need these things, as the journo has concluded. As for 3.5mm head/earphones, I’m really not audiophile enough to gain any advantage from a physical jack option - and I’d wager that 90% of Xperia (and other phones which claim to have great audio from the jack) users plug in gear that can’t make use of it anyway. Don’t get me wrong - it’s great tinkering fun to see it all work - but in the real world, it’s more likely to annoy by catching cables on door handles or tripping over them, crashing the phone to the floor when going to put the kettle on, than it is of any real use!

Of course, there will be niche cases and people who can and do appreciate the difference - and do have top-notch quality gear that works beautifully in tandem - but it feels like they will be a huge minority. Plugging it into a speaker maybe - well, OK, same applies really - great tinkering fun and nostalgia, but real-world? Of course, everyone is using Bluetooth - and BT on an Xperia phone (and most others now) is staggeringly reliable and good with a long range (usually) that will get you way past the kitchen kettle and most likely to the end of your long, long garden!

Moving away from Xperia, the chap argues that given the quality of one’s phone’s inbuilt DAC, the volume coming out of the 3.5mm jack might not be that high either. "If you like to use high-impedance headphones or quality IEMs, you'll find that the stock headphone audio-out doesn't have the power needed to reach their full potential. Additionally, since Android downsamples hi-res audio files played out of an inbuilt headphone jack, you're missing out on the best quality if you use it. Android often defaults to 48kHz resampling for hi-res audio files played through a default device output, which is higher than CD quality. However, if you want to play files up to 192kHz/24-bit at their full quality, you'll need an external USB DAC. So, despite having a 3.5mm audio-out right there on my phone, I found myself choosing to plug in a USB-C DAC instead" he said. I’m not smart (or audiophile) enough to know if all that is true, but he seems to know what he’s on about!

So then we come to the microSD card function. I live in a world where Plex is my friend. When I’m at home or out and about, as long as my router is on at base, I can just stream whatever I want, wherever I am. Anything from my 16TB HDD. So when do I ever need a microSD memory card? Well, for me and my life, never! But, again, there are people who live in dodgy connection zones or travel through them, and I guess that could impact their life if they can't get to essential files they need for their presentation the next morning. The other point, though, is that baseline storage on phones is going up and appears to be peaking generally, at least out of China, at 512GB now. And that’s surely plenty of movie/TV/music space for anyone planning a night away - or just having it there in case.

But then I suppose if you don’t have it (and/or you haven’t planned ahead for some kooky reason) you could always do something to pass the time. Like going for a pint. Or chatting with another human being. Anyway, the point is that I tend to agree on this based on my behaviour. Not once (beyond testing for reviews) probably in the last 5 years have I actually used data on a microSD card, nor plugged anything into a 3.5mm audio jack! Maybe you’re different.

Downrange (2017)

Ryûhei Kitamura’s 2018 survival thriller Downrange is a bloody exercise in tension. Clocking in at a lean 90 minutes, the time passes quickly. It is genuinely tense in places, with some truly grisly special effects thrown in for good measure. Originally a Shudder production, it is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video as well.

The setup is simple - a group of annoying American college students, all strangers to one another, are carpooling across a remote stretch of country road when they suffer a tyre blowout. As they clamber out to divide the labour of fitting the spare, the young man taking the lead discovers a bullet falling out of the shredded rubber of the old one. The tyre hasn't just burst, it has been shot!

A sniper is hidden in the trees, picking them off one by one before they can even comprehend the situation. Eventually, the survivors shift into desperate survival mode, huddled behind their vehicle - the only barrier they believe the bullets cannot penetrate. They manage to pinpoint his location and even record video footage of his nest in a tree, but the power dynamic remains firmly in the gunman's favour.

Inevitably, there is little to no mobile phone signal! The only spot where a bars-of-service icon appears is just out of reach, beyond the safety of the car. We spend the majority of the film watching the group’s numbers dwindle as they try to outwit the sniper, while he pounces on every mistake they make.

The film is excellently paced, thrusting us into the action within the first five minutes. There is no time for deep character development, which I think actually benefits the film. We don’t really need to hear about their whining backgrounds - though the script does meander there briefly at one point - as that isn't what this dastardly thriller is about! It is pure terror for terror’s sake.

Director Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train) successfully creates a sense of claustrophobia within a wide-open space by frequently tightening the frame. The camera often swirls and glides around the car, mimicking the predatory gaze of the sniper or the disorientation of the victims. These creative angles give the film an energy that sets it apart from typical low-budget thrillers.

Many of the decisions taken by the teens are irrational, though one could argue that panic and uncontrolled anxiety would lead to such lapses in judgement. Nonetheless, they are incredibly grating! To be honest, I found myself rooting for the sniper! This lack of sympathy is exacerbated by the (unknown to me) cast's acting, which is unfortunately not top notch. It is frequently wooden across the board, reaching a point where the viewer ceases to care who lives or dies!

The script is functional but lacks any real depth, and the music is equally unremarkable - generic filler that fails to elevate the sense of dread. However, as noted, the film is unapologetically gory. There is splatter aplenty and the practical effects are impressive enough. Heads explode, limbs are shredded and the camera lingers on the carnage often!

Without spoiling the ending, the film’s strength lies in the process - the sustained tension and the stress of the situation. By keeping the sniper’s identity and motives hidden throughout the stress of the situation, the film keeps you on the edge of your seat as it hurtles towards the grizzly finale. While it won't win any awards for its screenplay or acting, Downrange is an entertaining, fast-paced exercise in thrills, fake blood and smart cinematography. It certainly gets a pass from me.

Sisu (2022) and Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025)

These two completely bonkers films are super gory, in-your-face adventure yarns as we follow the unlikely antics of Finnish resident Aatami Korpi. The first one is set at the end of WWII as his foe is the Nazi army retreating to Germany in 1944. The second is set in 1946, after the dust has settled to some degree, but this time he’s up against the Russians. The feel of the films is much like that of Blood & Gold (2023), which I reviewed previously on my blog.

Sisu (2022)

Korpi is a former Finnish commando who lost his home and family to the Soviets during the Winter War. Seeking peace, he retreats to the Lapland wilderness to pan for gold. He strikes a massive vein, but to cash it in, he must travel over 500 miles to Helsinki through territory currently being scorched by retreating Nazi forces.

He first encounters a small Nazi scout unit. They dismiss him as a pathetic old man until they find his gold. When they attempt to execute him, Aatami kills them with terrifying efficiency, stabbing one through the skull and using their own weapons against them. This alerts SS Obersturmführer Bruno Helldorf, who decides to abandon his retreat to steal the gold, seeing it as his "retirement fund" now that the Nazis are losing the war.

The Nazis discover that he’s a legendary commando nicknamed "Koschei" (The Immortal) by the Russians after he killed over 300 soldiers to avenge his family. They are after him big time now, and it’s up to him to survive. Even though the Nazi soldiers use all sorts of tactics and methods - hanging, drowning, and more - he constantly scrapes through by the skin of his teeth!

The action is bloody and gory with little left to the imagination. Our hero executes all sorts of "Superman" actions to get out of trouble, seeking only to be left in peace to deposit his gold! It turns into something of an Indiana Jones-style outing - for example, hitching a ride on a plane, explosions galore and ending up in a swamp. Great fun. Very silly!

Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025)

In the second one, which is now rolling out to streaming services, Korpi returns to his old home in Karelia (now ceded to Russia). He plans to dismantle his family’s house beam by beam and move it back onto Finnish soil. However, the KGB releases Igor Draganov - the Red Army officer who specifically murdered his wife and sons - to hunt him down.

Draganov taunts our hero, revealing he remembers his sons’ deaths vividly, which fuels his "Sisu" (unbreakable will) to a new level. The film features a Mad Max-style chase where he uses a truck to fight off motorcycles, tanks and even a fighter plane! In one scene, he uses a truck cargo strap to create a ramp that causes a plane to crash.

The final showdown takes place on a Soviet train. After a brutal hand-to-hand fight where he is nearly beaten, he manages to make use of a ballistic missile mounted on the train to attempt his escape. Again, it is all bonkers - but fun, it is. We’re treated to even more blood, guts and gore in this even less likely adventure - and all he wants to do is to get his family home back over the (new) Finnish border!

I think the second is, yes, more nuts than the first, but if you enjoy high-octane action and are happy to let your imagination wander, it is a lot of fun. Both of them. Friday night. Few beers. You’ll love it! Jorma Tommila plays the beef mountain at the centre of our two stories, and Jalmari Helander is directing clearly with tongue firmly in cheek! There’s very little not to like here, so get stuck in, I say!

Essential Space on Nothing Phone (3)

With the launch of the Phone (3), Nothing has reached a pivotal junction in its brand evolution. For years, the London-based start-up was defined by its "aesthetic-first" philosophy - transparent plastics, Glyph lights and a monochromatic UI that looked undeniably cool - but didn’t necessarily change how we used our devices.

Nothing OS 3.5 introduced Essential Space, meaning that Nothing is moving away from being a mere lifestyle brand and into the territory of "functional AI". This isn't just a software update; it is perhaps the most significant shift in the brand’s history, turning the smartphone into a proactive "second memory".

The Concept: A Digital Second Brain

At its core, Essential Space is an AI-powered hub designed to solve the modern epidemic of "digital amnesia". We all suffer from it: the habit of taking a screenshot of a recipe, a book recommendation or a flight confirmation, only for it to be buried under thousands of photos, never to be seen again. Essential Space acts as a centralised repository for this "messy data". It’s a hybrid of a notes app, a voice recorder and an intelligent gallery. Using a combination of on-device processing and cloud-based AI, it transcribes, summarises and categorises snippets of your life so they can be retrieved through natural language search. Instead of scrolling through a gallery for ten minutes, you can simply ask Essential Space for "that blue shirt I saw last Tuesday" and the AI presents the relevant screenshot.

The Essential Key: Hardware Meets Intent

The most brilliant stroke of genius in the Phone (3) isn't the code - it’s the Essential Key. Located on the right side of the device, this dedicated hardware button removes the friction that usually kills AI utility. In a world where most AI features are buried three menus deep or require a specific "Hey Google" wake word, Nothing has made "remembering" a physical habit. The tactile, clicky feedback of the button (a hallmark of Nothing’s hardware design) makes the following actions instantaneous

Single Press: Captures a screenshot and saves it directly to the Space.

Long Press: Triggers the Essential Recorder, transcribing voice in real-time.

Double Press: Opens the Essential Space app to view your saved "Memories".

Camera Integration: Pressing the key while the camera is open snaps a photo and adds it to the Essential Space as a visual note.

By tethering the software to a physical key, Nothing has turned AI into a tool rather than a gimmick. It feels less like an app and more like a specialised piece of gear - reminiscent of the "Teenage Engineering" influence that has always permeated the brand.

Essential Recorder and the Glyph Matrix

The integration between hardware and software extends to the Essential Recorder. While the Google Pixel has long been the king of transcription, Nothing adds a layer of "secret agent" utility. The Flip-to-Record feature is a game-changer for digital mindfulness. By placing the phone face-down, you signal that you are present in the room, yet the device quietly begins capturing the conversation. During a recording, a single press of the Essential Key acts as a "bookmark" marking a timestamp for the AI to prioritise in the final summary. This is where the Glyph Matrix - the 489-LED dot-matrix display on the rear - comes alive. It provides a visual pulse to the AI’s "thinking" process. When Essential Space is processing a summary in the background, the Matrix shows a pulsing animation. If you’re recording, it displays a live waveform. This allows you to stay informed about the AI’s status without ever turning on the 6.7-inch OLED screen, keeping you away from the distractions of the notification shade.

Comparative Analysis: Nothing vs Google

When comparing Nothing Essential Space with Google Pixel Screenshots, the two platforms represent fundamentally different approaches to digital organisation. Nothing prioritises immediate, physical interaction through its hardware-first design, utilising a dedicated "Essential Key" to trigger actions instantly. In contrast, Google employs a software-first method, relying on standard OS gestures or sharing menus to capture content.

Nothing’s platform is also more multi-modal, acting as a holistic "second brain" that ingests voice notes, photos, links and text, whereas Google remains visual-centric, focusing primarily on screenshots. This philosophical difference extends to privacy: while Google’s Gemini Nano handles processing locally on-device for maximum security, Nothing uses a hybrid model that relies heavily on the cloud for its deep summarisation capabilities. Ultimately, Nothing positions Essential Space as a proactive personal assistant, while Google frames its tool as a smart, searchable archive.

While Google’s AI (Gemini Nano) is technically superior and more private due to its on-device nature, Nothing wins on friction reduction. On a Pixel, you have to take a screenshot and wait for the AI to index it. On the Phone (3), you hold a button and talk, or click a button to "save". Nothing’s approach is more holistic, acting as a repository for your clipboard and voice, effectively replacing the need for separate apps like Notion or Evernote for quick captures.

The "Nothing-isms": Limitations and Concerns

Despite the innovation, the experience isn't without its "Nothing-isms". The most contentious point for early users is the AI Credit System. Deep summarisation requires Nothing’s servers, and there is a monthly cap on processing. Once you hit the limit, the AI stops summarising until the next month. Nothing has hinted at a "Pro" subscription, which might alienate users who feel they’ve already paid a premium for the hardware. Furthermore, while the Phone (3) is marketed as a "mindful" device, the reliance on the cloud for personal memories is a contradiction. Google’s ability to do this on-device remains the gold standard for privacy. There is also a slight "processing lag" - summaries aren't instant, often taking a few seconds to populate in the background. Finally, the system is currently heavily English-centric. Users in Germany and Italy have reported significant drops in transcription accuracy, suggesting that Nothing’s global AI footprint still has room to grow.

The Verdict: A Proactive Future

The Phone (3) is Nothing’s answer to the philosophy behind the Rabbit R1 or the Humane Pin, but integrated into a device people actually want to carry. It’s the first AI phone that actually encourages you to look at it less. The "Aha!" Moment comes when you see the AI handle "messy" data. If you screenshot a concert flyer, the AI doesn’t just save an image; it extracts the date and asks if you want to add it to your calendar. It transforms the phone from a reactive glass slab into a proactive digital assistant.

Pro-Tips for Users

The Markdown Edge Use the export function in the Essential Recorder to send your meeting summaries directly to Notion or Obsidian - it’s far more versatile than Google’s "locked-in" ecosystem.

Keyword Rules Set custom Glyph Matrix rules for "Essential Notifications 2.0". You can make the back of the phone flash a specific icon only when a "Job Application" email arrives, allowing you to ignore the rest of the digital noise.

The Bottom Line

If you are someone who constantly loses ideas in a sea of unorganised digital clutter, Essential Space is a killer feature that justifies the upgrade. It makes the Phone (3) feel like it has a brain, not just a processor. While the looming subscription model and cloud reliance are valid concerns, the sheer utility of the Essential Key makes this the most "human" AI integration we’ve seen to date. Lastly, the button is in the wrong place! so close to the power key - it keeps being hit by most reports from users - in error. It should be at least the other side of the power button - or even the other side of the phone. Maybe we'll see that hardware change in upcoming models.

Predator 2 (1990)

I watched the first Predator (1987) at the cinema and not since. I remember it being a good adventure yarn with an interesting sci-fi "creature" element in the mix, set in the jungle and led by Arnie doing the punch-ups! This time, the unlikely frontman is Danny Glover, and I was most disappointed by the whole outing.

To be fair, I was not watching the second one with 1980s eyes and expectations, but rather present-day ones, in a world where acting (particularly) has come on in leaps and bounds. But more on that later. This time it’s set in an urban jungle rather than a green one, and the first half hour is complete chaos, depicting gang warfare and the Los Angeles police trying to sort it out in the sweltering summer heat.

In the middle of all this bonkers chaos, our same shimmering, invisible Predator turns up, for some reason ("He's in town with a few days to kill" says the tagline!) and starts slaughtering the members of the cartel. I’m not sure why - perhaps I don’t know enough about the Predator lore to understand why it turns up at that specific point on Earth, in that place and at that time.

The whole first half of the film is fairly boring, frankly, and plays out more like a "buddy cop" film than anything else. The characters are cheesy and typecast. They feel more like they are on the set of the TV series CHiPs, for example. The acting by everyone - yes, even the leads - is terrible, the script is awful and the editing is embarrassingly poor. At one point, for instance, there’s a cop standing to the side clearly awaiting his cue to walk into the hub of the action and deliver his lines. The setting looks like a poorly created studio - and yes, all very late-80s.

When the creature turns up, it does get more interesting, but during the first half, there isn’t much of that. Instead, we get Danny Glover as the cop "playing by his own rules", defying orders and doing as he likes - it’s so samey-samey! He is probably the most convincing actor in the cast, but because his character is so tediously typecast, it makes his performance look totally second-rate, sadly.

The rest of the cast - much like I was reflecting on with King Kong recently (spookily enough, released the same year as this) - just look and feel like actors "acting". They are not at all convincing and, like King Kong, are performing on sets that are equally unconvincing. The members of the Jamaican gang, for example - supposedly hardened criminals - look just like actors in make-up and costumes. I do think that these days acting has come so much further, and we generally expect, at least in well-produced films and TV, to be convinced by the characters. But maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, back to the plot. The body count rises, there is tedious buddy-cop wrangling between enforcement agencies (it’s always the same and has been done so many times) and more poor acting. Suddenly, our hero realises that they’re not after a man, but something otherworldly. Aha! Took him long enough! They end up trying to freeze our cuddly Predator with liquid nitrogen. As we might expect, the creature dispatches 1,001 enemies with ease, but in the showdown with our hero, it suddenly can’t even get just one more - giving him the chance to overpower it!

It’s not really scary as a film or story. In fact, the scariest bit is towards the end during a "vertigo" type scene with our hero creeping along a ledge with a sheer drop just one slip away! Then we get to the finale, where we see more of the creature's situation and the very interesting interior of its craft. No points for guessing what happens. I did wonder earlier why the creature refused to kill a woman because it detected she was pregnant - it was never really explained.

I think once we got away from the buddy-cop tropes and the tedious characters - specifically in the last third of the film - things looked up. Adventure was rife, and as unlikely as some of the outcomes were and as many plot holes as were exposed, this was by far the most entertaining segment. It could almost be watched in isolation. Oh yes, and then just ignore the tedious last scene when it briefly revisits the previous characters. In the finale, a 1712 flintlock pistol is thrown at him as a trophy, which I noticed turned up in Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) the other day - so there is a hook there.

But for me, the spoiler was the acting and characters. While a great actor, Danny Glover doesn't really work for me as a gritty action hero. Shouting at everyone and sweating profusely, he seems more stressed-out than in charge of the situation. And everyone else? It feels like their next job was on the set of Fame or a Porky’s film.

Jump forward to more recent Predator films I’ve seen, such as Prey (2022), and what a difference. Totally jaw-dropping engagement, superb acting and a great story, plot and editing. It’s a world away from this. Maybe I’m being unfair as it’s 35 years old, but it reminded me why I find many films from the 1980s so tedious to endure - though there are, of course, exceptions.

The Cave (2005)

A creature feature that somehow went wrong! It had a great premise and a solid cast featuring Lena Headey and Cole Hauser, but it often got lost in shaky-cam and dark underwater shots - laying aside the otherwise poor acting by most and all that macho-man, sexist claptrap.

We start with a group of explorers thirty years ago in the 1970s, exploring some caves in, around, and under an ancient abbey in Romania. As they poke around inside the building, the floor gives way beneath a mosaic, and they fall into an underground cavern system. That is essentially the last we see of them.

Jump to the present day (well, 2005), and a group of very experienced divers and scientists are hired to restart the exploration and discover what happened to that group, decades prior. We then enter the ‘getting to know the characters’ phase, which focuses on the muscled rivalry between them - buddies pranking each other and ‘manly’ challenges - the usual tropes usually reserved for the likes of Arnie, Van Diesel and Sly. It is all very tedious. They also spend their time flirting with the two female members of the group who, for some reason (particularly the expert climber), are far from rippling with muscles!

Anyway, once we get into the action, they find the route into the cave system, which actually becomes the star of the show. The caves are very nicely imagined (or perhaps some are real locations) as we climb, dive, swim, and explore our way through with the team. Unfortunately, just as they begin to realise that the cave is home to a unique ecosystem with some wonderfully undiscovered parasites and creatures, a rockslide traps them all with no way back!

They have no choice but to head deeper into the network of caves, much of it underwater, whilst slowly realising that the creatures are aggressive, never-before-seen, and must be avoided at all costs to preserve their lives. As you would imagine, most of the supporting cast are picked off one by one, leaving the higher-salaried actors as the longest-lasting characters on set. The leader of the group, Jack, gets scratched by a creature fairly early on but continues regardless.

The task is to find a route out alive before the creatures can finish off the remaining members. There is an annoying amount of handheld camera work; while this is partly acceptable to depict the claustrophobic situation and the footage they are recording themselves, it is simply too much. It is a shame because the idea was a cracking one.

When we eventually see the (underused) creatures, they are imaginatively created and/or animated, but we don't see one clearly until about 75% of the way through the 97-minute runtime. It feels like a wasted opportunity, reinforced by the fact that for a so-called ‘horror’, the monsters aren't particularly scary or horrific.

To be fair, it is a reasonably enjoyable adventure yarn, but so much could have been done better to make it a more satisfying outing. There is a tease at the end for a sequel, but it seems the media and fan reaction was so negative that they didn't bother! It’s a shame they didn't try again and just make it better.

Spoiler Alert The scientists discover a prehistoric parasite (a fungus) that infects its hosts. It is revealed that the winged, amphibious monsters hunting them were actually the original 13th-century explorers (the 1970s team) who became trapped. The parasite mutated them into predators to survive the cave environment. Consequently, Jack begins to undergo a physical transformation; his senses sharpen, his pupils change, and he starts to "think" like the monsters. Just before he fully ‘turns’, he sacrifices himself to save the remaining group members.